Southern California -- this just in

3-year-old son of San Jose police officer dies in handgun incident

July 6, 2012 | 8:54
am

The 3-year-old son of a San Jose police officer died of a gunshot wound in what appeared to be an accident at their home in Gilroy, authorities said.

Gilroy police would not say if the child shot himself or was shot by someone else in the incident, which occurred Thursday evening while family members were with him at home. Emergency personnel called to the house in the Santa Clara County community were unable to save the boy and he was pronounced dead on the way to a local hospital, according to a department announcement that did not identify the child or his father.

How the weapon was stored in the house will be central to the investigation. Gilroy police Sgt. Chad Gallacinao told the San Jose Mercury News that the probe was in its early stages, and "we believe it was accidental, however we are investigating to verify that and determine how it happened."

He said the child's family was devastated. “It's a very tragic incident and they are very upset, along with a lot of the neighbors in the area who personally knew the child and his family,” he told the newspaper.